


Naomi's laugh

by koalathebear



Series: The Expanse: Missing Scenes [1]
Category: The Expanse (TV), The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey
Genre: Coffee, F/M, Fluff, Gen, One Shot, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 15:31:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6245320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalathebear/pseuds/koalathebear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by this line in <b>Caliban's War (Book 2 of the Expanse series)</b>: <i>"Naomi laughed. It was a lovely sound, and it never failed to put a smile on Holden’s face.</i></p><p>*<br/>Kind of a blending of the television series and the books.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Naomi's laugh

Naomi laughed. It was a lovely sound, and it never failed to put a smile on Holden’s face, partly because it was so rare.

It wasn't that the engineer didn't have a sense of humour. Quite the contrary. Like Holden, she had an appreciation of the ridiculous, a wry sense of humour that allowed them to get through increasingly difficult times. If it wasn't a value-laden term, he'd have labelled it earthy humour, but that seemed to be an inappropriate description for the tall, slim Belter.

It was simply that outright laughter wasn't something that he really associated with the calm and competent Nagata. 

Most of the time, it was wry smiles exchanged when Amos said or did something particularly inappropriate and _Amos_ in nature. Or conspiratorial grins when Alex's Mariner Valley version of a broad Texas twang was just a little too much to take.

Then there were uncommon and precious moments like this when Holden was shaking his head at the travesty that Naomi had just handed him. It was almost a crime … 

"You're the smartest person I know…how can you get it so wrong?" he asked her incredulously. 

"You're just too picky, sir," she pointed out, no hint of offence on her face as she dared him to take a drink.

He sipped the black coffee and grimaced. "Holy crap, Naomi. The coffee machine manages it all for you … you seriously have to work hard at making coffee this bad …"

It was a standing joke among the crew that the _Roci_ 's coffee machine worked its best magic for Holden. The coffee machine whisperer, Alex had declared in the past.

She laughed again, her customary gravity banished from her face as took the coffee from him and placed her lips where his had been. She took a long swallow, her gaze holding his boldly and deliberately. 

"Give it back, bad coffee or not – it's still my coffee," he declared, the smile in his dark eyes mirroring hers.

Naomi Nagata had once tried to tell him that he didn't love her, that what he felt for her wasn’t love. 

She couldn't have been more wrong.

**fin**


End file.
